Leading the way in accessible bus services   

Go-Ahead Group is committed to ensuring our buses, all over the world, are easily accessible for everybody.

Caring for our local communities and connecting them to their work, education, healthcare and vital social interactions is at the very heart of what we do and one of our Go-Ahead core values.

By prioritising accessible initiatives our customers can feel comfortable, safe and confident in using our services.

A focused Accessibility Taskforce

We established the very first, operator-led, transport accessibility taskforce uniting accessibility and customer service leads from across the bus division who meet bi-monthly to share industry and group best practice.

The group work with national and local disability groups and charities, by listening and learning from the lived experiences of customers to then co-design and co-produce initiatives, policies and vehicle designs. This continues to then provide innovative solutions to ensure a more accessible journey for all.

Sharing knowledge

Go-Ahead’s Brighton & Hove Buses is a well-known leader in bus accessibility and part of the Accessibility Taskforce.

Brighton & Hove Buses implemented several measures to improve our services including:

• Implementing the very first ‘Accessibility lead’ role and then subsequently the very first ‘Accessibility Department’ within the UK Bus Industry. This dedicated resource is a key reason why Go Ahead is now a recognised leader in bus accessibility.

• Partnering  with Alzheimer’s Society UK, to introduce dementia friendly flooring across the entire fleet and dementia friendly moquette on the seating of all new buses.

• Creating Helping Hand, an award-winning assistance card scheme which is co-designed with several disability organisations. Helping Hand provides bus users with a way to advise of any assistance they may require discreetly and directly. This is particularly helpful for customers with non-visible disabilities.

• Hosting travel confidence building sessions and a Safe Haven Scheme within our travel shops have enhanced the areas into a community space. The schemes offer help and support to anyone requiring assistance or those unsure of their surroundings. We work in partnership with the local councils, The Alzheimer’s Society, Guide Dogs, local schools and many other charities and organisations to implement these initiatives.

• Enhancing visual and audio information for all customers with many buses having increased space for two wheelchair bays and separate buggy bays.

 The UK Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood visited Brighton & Hove Buses and said:

“We want to build a transport system that works for everyone, and Brighton & Hove are leading the way in making this a reality for bus passengers.

Speaking with local disabled people it was clear how much they valued these services, and we want operators across the country to learn from this leading approach – enabling everyone to travel with confidence”.

Ed Wills, Managing Director for Brighton & Hove Buses:

“We continue to work with and learn from charities and organisations locally and across the UK. By listening and learning from the lived experience of disabled people including co-designing our policies, initiatives and new vehicles helps to ensure a more inclusive journey for all.”

We are now taking the many of the initiatives developed by Brighton & Hove and implementing them across other operating companies, ensuring these accessibility measures benefit customers throughout our networks.

Training drivers to support passenger needs

We have also partnered with the Sight Loss Councils to develop driver training that supports blind and partially sighted customers. Endorsed by the CPT (Confederation of Passenger Transport) Bus Users UK, DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) and CIHT (Chartered institute of Highways and Transportation), this training is now considered the gold standard for the industry and is freely available to operators throughout the UK.

On demand bus services

Our operating company, Carousel Buses, has introduced a Demand Responsive Transport service. This service operates on the concept of ‘virtual bus stops’, with services picking up and dropping off customers near where they want to start and end their journeys, without being constrained by physical infrastructure. This is a progressive step in making public transport more accessible to customers in rural communities.

Social care initiatives in Singapore 

At Go-Ahead Singapore we have made significant investment into ensuring public transport is inclusive and accessible to all.

• Care Buses
  We worked with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) on the CARE bus initiative. This awareness campaign involved designing bus wraps on our service 358 to raise awareness for an inclusive commuting culture.

• Helping Hands Scheme
  We first trialled this programme on our Singapore services in 2020. As a result of its success, it has now been implemented across all LTA bus and rail services.

Recognition and outcomes 

As a result of our initiatives at Brighton and Hove Buses, the Go-Ahead Group is the first owning group to achieve Leader status. This is the highest level for the UK Department for Transport’s Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme for bus and train operations.

Additionally, we have received accreditation from respected accessibility groups including Guide Dogs, Dementia Friends status and our Accessibility Lead at Brighton & Hove Buses and a key member of the Accessibility Taskforce, Victoria Garcia, is honoured with an MBE for ‘Services to disabled transport users’.